Cassino (card game)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cassino (also known as Casino) is a card game for two, three, four or five (usually two) players, played with a standard deck of playing cards. The object is to score 21 points by taking cards.
It is similar to and probably descended from the Italian game Scopa.
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[edit] The deal
The dealer deals four cards to each player, two at a time, and, in the first deal, four cards face up to the table. The dealer has the option to deal any number of cards at one time to each person so long as the each person is dealt in sequence. This can include a deal of one, two, three, or four cards to each. In subsequent deals, the dealer replenishes the players' hands, but not the table. The deal rotates only at the end of a complete round, when the deck has been exhausted.
[edit] The play
Beginning with the player to the dealer's left, each player plays one card at a time, performing one of the following actions:
- Trailing: Any card may be discarded face up to the table.
- Pairing: Any card may be used to take another card of the same denomination, or a build with the same value, that is face up on the table.
- Combining: A number card may be used to take two or more cards whose pips total the number on the card being used to take them. For example, a player may take a 3 and a 6 with a 9, or may take a 2, 4, and 4 with a 10.
- Building: Cards may be built upon in one of two ways, described in more detail below.
A player with a build on the table is not permitted to trail a card until that build has been taken in or rebuilt upon by an adversary; he may, however, pair, combine or build with any card on the table.
When a player takes the last card on the table, it counts as a "sweep". To keep track of sweeps, one of the captured cards is placed face up. Tracking sweeps is optional and not part of the generally accepted rules of play.
Face-cards do not have a denomination in Cassino and are not available for building. In some variations of Cassino, the face-cards may only be picked up one at a time; in other words if there are two queens on the table, only one queen can be picked up. Other variations allow three face cards to be simultaneously gathered, and doing so automatically removes the possibility of further sweeps once the fourth face-card is trailed.
Cards are usually left on the table after each player's final hand is exhausted. These cards are given to the last player to take in cards through pairing or combining.
[edit] Building
There are two types of building:
Under the first type, a player may lay one card on top of another if their total equals the total of a card in his hand, and announce that the two cards are built to the total. For example, a player may build a 2 onto a 7 and announce "building nine," provided he has a 9 in his hand. The two cards cannot be split up for pairing or combining, and are treated as a single nine.
Builds of this type may be taken in by either player by pairing. The building player's adversaries may also take in a build by combination; for example, an eight build may be combined with an ace if an adversary holds a nine. Any player may also continue to build on a build, for example, a seven build could be built to nine by a player with a 2 and an 9. The player who originally builds may also re-build, but only if he holds all appropriate cards: in the example above, he would have to hold both a 7 and a 9 to make the required building steps.
In the second type of building, a player may lay one card on top of another if their values are the same, and announce that the two cards are built together. For example, a player can place a 7 on top of another 7, or on top of a 5 and a 2 which have been built to 7, and announce "building sevens," provided he has a 7 in his hand. The built cards can then only be gathered with another 7.
When building in this manner, players may combine other cards on the table, and build in the first manner. For example, the cards on the table are 2 K 6 5 8, and the player holds a 3 and an 8. He may play his 3 onto the 5 to "build eight," and in the same move "build eights" by gathering the 5-3, the 8 and the 6-2 together onto one pile, taking in all five cards on his next play.
[edit] Scoring
The round is over when the stock has been exhausted and the last deal played. Players count their tricks and score points as follows:
- Higher number of cards: 3
- Higher number of spades: 1
- 10 of diamonds ("big cassino"): 2
- 2 of spades: ("little cassino"): 1
- Each ace: 1
Thus there are 11 points to be won in each round, unless a player has 11 points to himself, some rules state that this player be awarded an extra point, for 12. Other rules state that this is a "skunk" if it occurs in the first round and that player wins. Typically, the winner is the first player to score 21 or more points total. In the event of two players reaching 21 in the same round, the points are awarded in the order listed above.
If "most cards" or "most spades" are held by two or more players, no points are awarded in that category. [1]
[edit] Variants
[edit] Five players
Remove 2 hearts, diamonds and clubs - and give an extra card to each player on the last deal.
[edit] Sweeps
A sweep is declared by a player who manages to capture all face-up cards from the table. In some localities, each sweep is worth an additional point. Points for sweeps are awarded after the base 11 points, in the event that two players reach 21 in the same round.
[edit] Builds
In some localities, the player who created a 'build' must take it at the first opportunity unless either building further on the same 'build' or building on other cards to the same total as the first (this changes tactics, particularly for two players, as the opponent knows that they can lay down a card they wish to subsequently capture without the risk of it being taken).
[edit] Royal cassino
In royal cassino, face cards are given number values upon which building may occur: jacks count as 11, queens as 12, kings as 13, so a player could take a jack plus a two with a king, since 11+2=13.
[edit] Face cards
One variation allows face cards to be built upon if the player has all 4 of the same rank, or 3 if the fourth is on the board, but not otherwise. This allows for stacking while removing the possibility of an "orphan" card.
[edit] California Casino
To find out more about California Casino, see the Wikipedia article on California Casino to see the complete rules.
[edit] Spade cassino
In Spade Cassino, players are awarded two points for gathering the jack of spades, and one point for each additional spade, in addition to the one point awarded to the player with the most spades. This lifts the number of points awarded in one round to 24.
